In the morning, Yuanzhi went to the training ground to ask for leave on Shen Que’s behalf. Shen Que really couldn’t get out of bed. The result of a hangover and a night of indulgence was worse than catching a cold. His whole body felt like it had fallen apart, and it hurt to move even a little.

Lin Xie was a bastard. Last night, in the latter half, as the effects of the alcohol gradually wore off, Shen Que retained some consciousness and pushed against Lin Xie’s chest, wanting him to leave. But Lin Xie refused and maliciously left everything inside him.

Although he had heard from the doctor before that he was underdeveloped and that with such a flawed and complex body, it would be difficult to have offspring in the future, he was still afraid. He held onto the bed frame to get up, intending to go to the courtyard to fetch water for a bath.

He had just put on his outer garment when he heard someone knocking on the door. Then he saw Yuanzhi bringing in a bucket of hot water, yawning as he asked, “Sir, where are you going?”

Shen Que was also a bit puzzled and raised his hand to ask, “Who told you to come?”

It was still before dawn, a time when children were usually deep in sleep. How could he be up?

“A gentleman came looking for you just now and said you asked me to bring some hot water over,” Yuanzhi replied.

No need to guess, Shen Que knew who that “gentleman” was. He couldn’t help but find it a bit funny, not knowing whether to laugh at that person or himself.

Leaning against the bed for a while, Shen Que changed into a dark robe and wrapped a rabbit fur collar around his neck to cover the marks.

After morning practice, he was supposed to report to the Prince as usual. Today, it was rare to see the sun, and the spring sunshine warmly draped over him, but he only felt cold, bone-chilling cold.

Shen Que entered the Prince’s sleeping quarters as usual. The scent of calming incense lingered in the hall, and all the candles were extinguished. Only a small window in the hall was open, letting in the spring light, which outlined a golden halo around Xie Shiguan’s loose hair.

“Didn’t go to the training ground today?” Xie Shiguan unfolded a scroll in his hand, speaking in a casual tone.

Shen Que nodded.

Xie Shiguan looked at him with a half-smile, “Since when did you learn to slack off, Ah Que?”

Shen Que raised his hand, about to explain, but then the Prince said, “Come over and talk.”

So he had to stop and walk over to Xie Shiguan. The Prince smiled, then hooked an arm around his waist, pulling him onto his lap.

Shen Que was caught off guard, pulled into his embrace. His lower body was already uncomfortable from the friction of the undergarments, and now being enveloped by the Prince’s sandalwood scent made him feel even more uneasy.

He wanted to get up, but Xie Shiguan held his waist down, “This seat is only so big. If you don’t sit on my lap, do you expect me to get up and give you my seat?”

His words made no sense, but Shen Que, with his wooden head, couldn’t find a retort.

Seeing him obediently not struggling, Xie Shiguan then pointed with his finger at the painting on the table, “This is a Guanyin image painted by Wu Daozi. People say he ‘exhausted the wonders of painting, Wu’s belt flutters in the wind, Cao’s clothes emerge from the water.’ What do you think?”

Shen Que couldn’t read a single character and hadn’t seen many paintings, so he couldn’t appraise them. He could only tell that the Guanyin in the painting was lifelike, so it must be a good painting.

So he slightly turned his body and signed to the Prince, “I think… it’s painted very well.”

Xie Shiguan smiled, deliberately teasing him, “In what way is it good?”

Shen Que couldn’t articulate it. After racking his brains, he could only say, “Very good, very real.”

“Indeed,” Xie Shiguan said, “I think this Guanyin image in the painting resembles you a bit. Since you like it, I’ll give it to you.”

Shen Que was flattered and his heart was in turmoil. This was an authentic work by Wu Daozi, worth a fortune. He had no merit or labor to deserve such a good thing.

Watching Xie Shiguan roll up the painting, push it into a scroll tube, and forcefully stuff it into his arms, he asked, “Why are you in a daze? Don’t you like it?”

Shen Que quickly shook his head, pursed his lips, and placed the scroll tube on the table, signing, “It’s too valuable…”

“Once it’s given to you, it’s yours,” Xie Shiguan pressed down his hand, very domineeringly, “I didn’t ask if you wanted it or not.”

After receiving the painting, Xie Shiguan spread a piece of rice paper on the table, took a small white jade brush from the brush rack, dipped it in ink at the inkstone, and handed it to Shen Que.

Shen Que took the brush somewhat bewilderedly. It was his first time holding a brush in his life, and he didn’t know how to hold it properly, so he had to hold it like chopsticks.

Xie Shiguan seemed to be in a good mood today. Seeing his incorrect grip, he corrected him in a low voice. The Prince rarely had such patient and gentle moments.

Shen Que was a bit dazed, secretly using his peripheral vision to look at the Prince’s face. Xie Shiguan noticed his gaze and covered his hand with his right hand, “Don’t get distracted, look ahead.”

Shen Que quickly turned back, but his heart continued to tremble. The Prince wanted to teach him calligraphy, which was not allowed before.

An illiterate mute was very convenient for the Prince to use, but a literate mute might not be.

The advisors in the residence were eloquent, and even his colleagues were children from good families. They might not be able to write poetry, but they were all educated, unlike him, who was illiterate.

To say he wasn’t envious would be a lie.

But now, Xie Shiguan was holding his hand, teaching him to write his own name stroke by stroke.

Shen Que didn’t dare to get distracted, staring intently at the rice paper in front of him, but then he heard Xie Shiguan slowly moving his hand and whispering in his ear, “In Western Sichuan, there’s a renowned doctor known for bringing the dead back to life.”

Shen Que was slightly stunned.

“The Marquis of Wu’an still owes me a favor,” Xie Shiguan said slowly, “The military governor stationed there is also an old acquaintance of mine. On the day of the incident, he immediately invited this medical sage over. Besides, he’s Shen Xiangzhi’s son, so he’s very concerned. The people sent over are all trustworthy.”

“Shen Luo won’t die.”

This sounded like comfort. He didn’t have to explain these things to him, but seeing this mute troubled by this matter, with no smile on his face, the Prince found it very annoying.

This rare bit of warmth from Xie Shiguan, to Shen Que, almost felt like coaxing.

The floor heating in the hall was too warm, and Shen Que was dressed too heavily today. A bit of sweat appeared on the tip of his nose, and his palms were slightly damp. Being held by the Prince like this made it even more unbearable.

Xie Shiguan seemed oblivious to his discomfort, one hand around his waist, then deliberately asked in his ear, “It’s warming up today, a rare sunny day. Why are you wearing a collar?”

Shen Que’s heart tightened. He was already struggling to hold the brush, and hearing him whisper like this made his ears turn red, and his hand trembled, causing the dot under the “Ling” character to go astray, ruining the whole character.

“How can you handle a knife well but not hold a brush?” Xie Shiguan laughed, “So clumsy.”

Shen Que was too nervous to notice the subtle ambiguity in his last sentence.

He just felt he was indeed clumsy and regretted it. It was the first time Xie Shiguan taught him to write, and he had written the Prince’s name so poorly.

Xie Shiguan didn’t seem angry at all. He crumpled the ruined paper into a ball, tossed it aside, and opened another book for him to copy.

Shen Que was eager to learn. The Prince pointed to a character, and he carefully copied it, then looked at Xie Shiguan, asking him to read it aloud.

Xie Shiguan smiled, patiently teaching him to read.

But as Shen Que wrote and read, he suddenly realized something was wrong. Although he couldn’t read, he wasn’t stupid. Reading the line of characters together, it said: “‘Willow waist, spring thick, cherry mouth, slight panting, starry eyes, fine sweat flowing fragrant jade beads, soft chest rippling, dew dripping peony heart.'”

Such vivid and lewd words, how could it be a serious book!

Seeing his hesitation, Xie Shiguan laughed even more, turning to the book’s cover and deliberately slowing his speech, “Let me teach you the book’s title. Listen carefully, these three characters are Jin, Ping, Mei.”

Shen Que couldn’t read, but he had heard of this book. It was the one Shen Luo and the others hid under their pillows to read secretly at night. Seeing them like that, he understood it must be an erotic book.

Now, hearing the words inside, he was even more certain of this guess.

He blushed again. Xie Shiguan was always unconventional. If he taught him to read seriously, that would be strange.

Shen Que didn’t dare to be angry, just gently pushed the book aside.

“Don’t want to practice with this one?” Xie Shiguan saw his action, still with a half-smile, and when he nodded, he kindly gave him another book.

Shen Que still couldn’t understand the characters in this book, but as he flipped through a few pages, he found a picture. It was a fine line drawing, depicting two men undressing in a field of flowers and grass… Not only were their poses lewd, but even the details of their union were meticulously drawn.

“Both are fine line drawings,” Xie Shiguan joked, “I think this one is even better than Wu Daozi’s.”

Shen Que quickly closed the book, not daring to look further at its contents.

“Why not look?” He watched Shen Que’s evasive gaze, pressing closer, “Isn’t it good?”

Shen Que quickly shook his head, then heard him sigh lightly, as if regretful, “Such a good book, why don’t you like it?”

Shen Que couldn’t bear to see him sad, even if the Prince’s sadness was only partly real and mostly fake. He had to brace himself and sign, “I like it.”

“Really?” Xie Shiguan squinted slightly, this time smiling genuinely, “Then I’ll reluctantly part with these books and give them all to you. You can study two pages every day, and in the morning, I’ll test you.”

The Prince’s reward should be met with a smile, but Shen Que’s smile was rather forced, like he was about to cry.

After speaking, Xie Shiguan stood up, letting Shen Que take his place, then stood by his side, watching the mute practice writing. He held the brush clumsily, his lips slightly parted, looking somewhat dazed and foolish.

The Prince had recently taken a leave of absence from court, not reading the memorials sent in, as if he had decided to ignore the outside world.

He rarely had such leisure, but since he was on sick leave, he had to keep up appearances. He couldn’t go to the pleasure boats or restaurants, yet he had recently become infatuated with this mute.

Last night, he summoned Yu Kongqing, who was very much to his taste, but he couldn’t get aroused. He kept comparing him to the little mute, finding him lacking in charm, beautiful but vulgar.

The mute, halfway through writing, suddenly looked up, put down the brush, and cautiously asked, “Your Highness, how do you write the character ‘Luo’?”

If he learned to write, the first thing he wanted was to write a letter to Shen Luo.

Xie Shiguan was a bit displeased, but his displeasure never showed on his face. He just said sarcastically, “I don’t know.”

Shen Que looked at him in confusion.

“I haven’t read much, so what if I don’t know?”